Hiking in Cinqueterre, Italy
- Marina Piccola – The seaside location is great but the menu was fairly limited and the waitress was downright grumpy.
- “The one on the right as you walk towards the water” – That’s what we called it but according to my Visa statement it is called La Scogliera.
- “The one on the left as you walk towards the water” – OK, according to Visa it’s called Il Porticciolo
- “The one at the square” – Also known as Aristide – this was definitely our best meal and also the least expensive.
The Cinque Terre is a national park, so you need a hiking permit to use the well maintained trails. We bought a pass for the three day duration of our stay (10 euros) even though we only planned on hiking two days. This came in handy when twice we had to walk to the next village to catch a train and once we got on a train that whizzed by our village and stopped in the next village.
On the afternoon of our arrival, we walked the paved trail from Manarola to Riomaggiore. This 15 minute walk is by far the easiest in the Cinque Terre. Riomaggiore is the last of the five villages and seemed a little busier than Manarola.
The following day we were up early with a goal of seeing the other three villages. The fairly level dirt trail from Manarola to the Corniglia train station took about 30 minutes. We felt pretty good, because the map noted that the hike would take an hour. Then we saw the sign explaining we had 33 flights of stairs to go. Corniglia, the smallest of the five villages, is perched atop a promontory and surrounded by vineyards and the ocean. The hike from Corniglia to Vernazza took two hours and had many more hills, but the scenery is literally breathtaking so it kept our minds off our soon-to-ache legs.
Vernazza seemed crowded after being in Corniglia and hiking alone for several hours. We stopped for internet and then had lunch at Ristorante Castello. I’m quite certain this wasn’t the most economical option in Vernazza, but we both agree that this was our second favorite meal of the trip – the taste of our meal was only rivaled by the scenery. With a belly full of carbs we headed out for Monterosso.
The map indicated the distance between Vernazza and Monterosso was shorter than from Corniglia to Vernazza, yet the map indicated it would take 2:30. This should have been a clue to the incline/decline we would encounter 🙂 The weather was warm, and some of the inclines were steep single lane staircases, yet we were being passed by German hikers who had to have been in their 70’s – and smoking! We arrived in Monterosso (under the two and a half hour estimate) and stopped for a drink at a beachside cafe in the old town. Monterosso is the largest of the five villages – it seemed ten times the size of Manarola and because my legs were shaking by this point, we decided to return for exploring the following day. The ferry wasn’t running so we hobbled over to the train station and purchased two tickets to Manarola – the agent told us which track to stand on and what time the train would arrive. And of course, we boarded that train and it whizzed right by Manarola so we got off at Riomaggiore and walked 15 minutes back. Total distance: 7 miles.
The following day we took the train an hour (northwest?) to Santa Margertia and then took a 15 minute ferry to Portofino. Half fishing village, half upscale resort, this secluded hideaway had an entirely different vibe than the Cinque Terre – yet they use the same color palette 🙂
- Easy hiking through truly beautiful scenery
- Taking the ferry (great to see the villages from a different vantage point)
- Being there before high season (can’t imagine the crowds or the heat)
- Restaurants that didn’t have English menus and Santa Margerita pinot grigio by the gallon as a house wine
